Association of Adenosine Deaminase (ADA) +22 G->A (rs73598374) Genotype in Latino Adult Obese

Obesity is a health burden that currently affects over 13% of the global adult population, consisting of over 650 million adults. Obesity is evaluated based on a body mass index (BMI) scale, which is calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters. Adults with a BMI greater than 30kg/m2 are considered to be obese while adults with a BMI greater than 40kg/m2 are considered morbidly obese. Adenosine deaminase (ADA) is a polymorphic enzyme that plays an important role in both immune functions and the regulation of intracellular and extracellular concentrations of adenosine. Three alleles of the ADA gene (ADA1, ADA2, ADA6) are associated with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1). ADA2/6 may increase susceptibility to DM1 in females. Given the evidence linking obesity with DM1, we wanted to determine whether a correlation exists between ADA2 allele and obesity. The ADA2 (+22 G->A, rs73598374) SNP changes the amino acid at position 8 from aspartic acid (Asp8)(D) to asparagine (Asn)(N). In this study, we present significant evidence of association between the ADA2 allele and obesity or BMIs greater than 25 in the Latino adult but not in the Caucasian population and therefore, may be a risk for obesity and its complications such as DM1.